Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1887-01-01
A~PRoFiTABLE INDUSTRY.
q Novel Means os ssvlfhood I'm which
Citizens OF Detroft are Engaged.

U Novel Means os s-svlihood I'm Which
Citizens of Detroit are Engaged
Detroit Fost and Tribune.
: There is an enterprise carried on in
Detroit which is not generally known,
and never appears in the statement Of
the city's varied prosperous industries.
Its novelty is such that it has never as
yet attained the dignity of name.
1t is carried on when q majority
OF citizens are asleep. Those en-
gagged in it prosper upon the
carelessness and misfortunes OF
Others. Their income defies definite pre-
idiction, but can be depended IN for a
handsome return on the capital invested.
The few engaged in this industry might
Zoe termed fighters" The pioneers in
the business were gas-lighters. Scarcely
one of their number, who has been en-.
;gcged with the craft for any consider
able length Of time, has failed to find
one or more articles which afforded a
handsome addition to his regular in
come. Almost every night there was a
valuable find or two, and as a knoWl-
edge Of the fact came to a few men who
were waiting for something to turn up.
they saw in it a golden opportunity, an,
are now laying up treasures from What
they a find.
One OF these individuals lives in Closes
alley and is a negro. At the very peep
OF day he may be seen abroad, travelling
a a good round space scanningthe side
walk and doorways, and swoopingd down
on anything Of sufficient value to repay
the loss of a minute or so. There are also
three men who travel together, their
rounds generally beginning about MID
night and continuing unit. daylight.
They walk abreast, taking in the side
walk, scanning it as they 60, the center
man carrying a bull's-eye lantern at
tached to the front of his coat. They
go as rapidly as is consistent with their
business, and nothing of value escapes
their notice. A basket is the receptacle
for many articles, neaey goes into
their pockets. and heavier finds some
times necess.tate the sending OF a detail
of one or two for assistance or a wagon.
What they pick up comprises almos.
every movable commodity worn or car
RED upon the stress. They secure hats,
handkerchiefs without number, coats.
money, umbrellas, feathers of value,
occasionally a valuable watch dropped
by some night marauder, purses, rings,
breastpins, canes, chains, bracelets,
keys, letters, gloves, furs, skirts, and
even hose, dropped by some luckless
adventures. An invoice Of these find
ings would show an immense annual
aggregate. A plume picked up not
long since netted eight dollars to the
finder. A watch was quietly disposed
of for fifty dollars, and the purchaser
had a bargain. Much Of the jewelry is
sent to a distant market. Ready money
is tucked away and tells no tales.
Curious finds are also made. An old
lamp-lighter said to a reporter: II have
picked up two bushels of potatoes when
they were worth a dollar and a half per
bushel, and no one even called fer the
bags"
Another had found a new suit OF
clothes, neatly done up, and found them
a good fit without the change of a but
ton. Some disciple of Bacchus tucked a
twenty-dollar bill outside his vest pocket
and the eagle-eyed finder gathered it in,
Purses containing several times tina,
amount have been picked up, and the
business is said by those informed to be
2 lucrative one.
A peculiar S is that of an aged
negro who is found around the market
building at an early hour during the ho'
weather. He gathers up the heads and
feet of chickens, declaring when ques
toned: "Boss, dem am de quintessencs
oh de towel. De possum am de onl.
bird dat CELEBRATES desc fob regalah ole
time SOUP" He never misses a squash
bunch Of vegetables, OF some othe'
bit Of diet.